


Pay No Attention to the Boy In Front of the Curtain

by baridalive



Series: 12 Days of Donghyuck [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, Celebrity!Jisung, Christmas, Cute, Dancing, Finding Love, Fluff, Love, M/M, Self-Discovery, date, soft, unintentional date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 13:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17060837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baridalive/pseuds/baridalive
Summary: In which caution is thrown to the wind and learning to accept yourself is put above all else____Days 5 and 6 of Donghyuck's quest to find love before Christmas





	1. Day 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story can be a standalone, but some references and events will make more sense if you read the previous two stories in the series!

**Thursday, December 18th**

_ 4 Days Until Departure _

_ 6 Days Until the Christmas Eve Party _

**7 Days Until Christmas**

* * *

 

**Thursdays had been Donghyuck’s favorite** day since the beginning of freshman year. He had ended up with one dance rehearsal in the morning, choir in the afternoon, and a second dance rehearsal later in the evening. No homework, no other classes or obligations. 

 

It was just before ten o’clock in the morning and Donghyuck had headed off to his first rehearsal of the day: group dance practice. He had worked himself to the bone for the past two years to make it into the most elite dance group consisting of the best seven dance majors that the university had to offer, and had gotten notice of his admission mere hours after his audition at the beginning of the semester.

 

Besides himself, the rest of the team consisted of the most talented six people Donghyuck had ever had the pleasure of working with: seniors Chou Tzuyu, Lee Chan and Kang Mina; juniors Kim Yeri and Choi Yerim; and sophomore Park Jisung. 

 

There wasn’t going to be much going on in rehearsal that day, since solo competitions had just finished up last weekend, but Donghyuck had done well enough that he got an invitation to nationals, along with Chan and Mina, but for the rest of the group, new solos and duets needed to be organized.

 

Donghyuck pushed the heavy door to the studio open with his back before plopping both his bag and himself straight onto the floor with a groan, gaining the attention of the one other person who bothers to show up to practice early: Jisung.

 

“Hyung, are you alright?” The younger rushed over, the expression of concern on his face molding into one of annoyance after seeing Donghyuck’s grin. “You’re so annoying.” Jisung huffed, standing back up.

 

“Ah, it’s my job to annoy you, though.” Donghyuck pointed out, getting back on his feet to drag his backpack over to the side of the studio where Jisung’s things resided. Jisung turned his attention back to the music that had been playing in the background when Donghyuck had arrives, slowly going over a complex series of steps which Donghyuck’s eyes had a hard time keeping up with.

 

“What’s that you’re practicing?” Donghyuck called out, causing Jisung’s head to snap back in his direction and his movements to stop. 

 

“Oh, uh this?” Jisung ran his fingers through his bleached blond bangs and gestured halfheartedly at his feet. “Just a little something I choreographed. I was hoping for next month’s solo comp, but I’m not set on anything yet.” He trailed off at the end, making Donghyuck smile.

 

For being such a talented dancer with great expressions and charisma on stage, Jisung was a lot more reserved in real life. Donghyuck exchanged his street shoes for his studio ones, pushing himself up to join Jisung in the middle of the studio.

 

“Okay, teach me.” Donghyuck 

 

“What?”

 

“The steps you were just doing. Teach me.” Donghyuck urged, flicking Jisung’s shoulder playfully. 

 

He knew that Jisung looked up to him figuratively as much as Donghyuck looked up to him literally, and it was always good practice to talk through the steps that were being choreographed to make sure they were just as desired, and so the steps were more easily memorized since Jisung wasn't writing down any of his ideas as far as Donghyuck could see.

 

Jisung visibly hesitated for a moment before nodding, setting himself back into the starting position. Donghyuck mimicked him, committing each movement that Jisung made and explained to memory, and it wasn’t long until they were both dancing in synchronization to the upbeat pace of the music.

 

When the last beat hit, it left a sweaty and panting pair of dance majors in the middle of the studio, holding the final pose as their chests heaved with heavy breaths. A smattering of applause came from the back of the room, and Donghyuck’s head shot up, making eye contact with the rest of the team and the instructor in the mirror.

 

“Well done, boys,” Ten praised. “It looks like we have one new pair already set.” As the instructor for the most talented college level dancers in the country, Donghyuck couldn’t imagine the stress and pressure that he was sure Ten was constantly under, but it was how the Thai man played it all off with a smile and a twirl that kept Donghyuck so inspired by his teacher.

 

Yerim playfully pouted from the back of the room as she set down her bag. “Aw, but Jisungie and I were going to work together this time!” 

 

Ten laughed, shaking his head. “Nah, it’s Donghyuck’s turn with the celebrity.” Jisung turned red and buried his head in his hands in order to try and hide it. 

 

Jisung was already somewhat of a legend in the world of dance, having already amassed over five million on his YouTube channel where he had been posting little dance covers of songs since he was very young, and over twelve million on his Instagram account. 

 

He was a bit of a celebrity, Ten was right, but Donghyuck just felt a twinge of pity for the boy. Jisung loved dancing, that much was obvious, but he clearly wasn’t a fan of all the attention it garnered on the side since he really started to gain a fanbase. Donghyuck himself could relate, albeit maybe not on that scale, he hoped it made the younger boy feel better that someone at least had an inkling of what all of this was like.

 

Donghyuck dragged Jisung to the side so he would drink some water as the other dancers began to warm up in the center of the floor and Ten started to name off the new duets and solos for that month.

 

Chan and Mina ended up being put together since they were the only others that still had to worry about nationals, Yerim and Yeri were given free reign to choose a duet and told explicitly that no, they weren’t allowed to do  _ Red Flavor _ again, while Ten gave Tzuyu the solo.

 

“Donghyuck, Jisung!” Ten called them over, and the two scrambled to get up from the side of the room where they had been looking at a dance video on Jisung’s phone together. “You two can choose whatever song you would like, but your challenge is to create a completely original choreography for it. All on your own.”

 

Donghyuck sucked in a breath, and felt Jisung stiffen up next to him. Having free creative reign wasn’t something that Ten gave out very often, and he planned on taking full advantage of it. There were so many ideas already running through his head that Donghyuck physically had to place a hand on Jisung’s shoulder to steady himself.

 

“I have some ideas,” Jisung said carefully, turning to Donghyuck after Ten walked away to work with Tzuyu some more. “Can I share them with you, Hyung?”

 

Donghyuck nodded, running over to his bag and grabbing out his laptop and his notebook. He patted the floor beside him, indicating to Jisung that Donghyuck wanted him to come sit next to him. Jisung looked a little unsure, but plopped himself down at Donghyuck’s side. 

 

“Can I share something that I found first, though? Just before I forget.” Donghyuck asked, pulling up a YouTube video he had stumbled across recently. He caught a glimpse of Jisung nodding mutely out of the corner of his eye, scooting closer to Donghyuck so he had a better view of the screen.

 

They sat there in complete silence as the clip played, Donghyuck’s fingers tapping along to the rhythm of the song on his thigh while Jisung’s were just drumming anxiously on the floor of the studio. Donghyuck frowned, asking him if he wanted to share his ideas now, but Jisung just rubbed the back of his neck, claiming that they weren’t any good after all.

 

The cycle repeated itself for an hour, with Donghyuck pulling up new videos and songs to ask Jisung’s opinion, only to have the younger shrug in discomfort and say that anything Donghyuck chooses is fine.

 

Eventually, Donghyuck sighed and snapped his computer closed. “Hey, Jisung.”

 

Jisung finally looked at Donghyuck, but had the distinct look of a deer caught in headlights. “Yes, Hyung?”

 

“There’s no need to refer to me formally here, Jisung.” Donghyuck lightly scolded. “We are both dancers, therefore we are both equals, so just call me Donghyuck, okay?”

 

An expression of mild terror passed over Jisung’s features. “Yes, Hyung, I mean Hyuck, I mean Donghyuck.”

 

Donghyuck rubbed his temples. As much as they had been dancing together for the entirety of the semester, and had even worked together earlier today, Jisung was so uncomfortable around him, it made them both unable to work. Donghyuck put his closed his notebook, and placed both that and his computer back into his bag.

 

“What are you doing?” Jisung tilted his head, looking something akin to an adorably confused puppy.

 

“We’re never going to be able to dance together, just the two of us, unless we break whatever barrier is between us right now.” Donghyuck explained.

 

“Huh?” The noise of confusion that Jisung made in response was the cutest thing Donghyuck had ever heard, and he struggled not to coo.

 

“I’m taking you out to lunch.”

 

“What? Oh, you don’t have to, it’s alright!” Jisung rushed out, turning pink and shaking his head with vigor.

 

“Nope,” Donghyuck shrugged his bag onto his shoulder and stood. “You have no choice. We’re doing this, so go collect your stuff.”

 

Jisung tried to protest again, but Donghyuck just pulled him up and shepherded him over to where his backpack was lying on the floor so he could pick it up.

 

“Ten!” Donghyuck called. “We’re going to call it a bit early today so we can go grab some food, but we’ll practice more this evening!”

 

Ten playfully narrows his eyes from where he had been demonstrating a move for Chan. “You two had better eat healthy!”

 

Donghyuck simply smiled, waving him off with a light, “Aye, aye, captain!” before grabbing Jisung’s hand and dragging him out of the studio into the bright midday sunshine. A little puff of air left Donghyuck’s lips happily as he tipped his head up to absorb more of the sun’s warmth. 

 

He opened his eyes and looked over at Jisung, who quickly averted his eyes from where they had been trained on Donghyuck, the tips of his ears turning red. Donghyuck grinned, about to ask Jisung what that was all about when a shriek was heard behind them.

 

“Jisung-oppa!” A high pitched voice squealed. “Is that you?” 

 

Donghyuck laughed as Jisung let out a rather uncharacteristic string of curses under his breath, quickening his pace and lowering his head. “Do you want my hat?”

 

Jisung shook his head. “No, then they’ll know who you are, and that might be worse.” He grimaced, hearing more of the girls behind them, yelling about wanting a signature from him.

 

“That’s fair.” Donghyuck mused calmly, but was struggling to keep up with Jisung’s long strides. 

 

“We might have to make a run for it.” He muttered as the voices seemed to get closer. “I’m so not in the mood for this today.”

 

Donghyuck smiled at him, shouldering his bag into a more comfortable position. “I’m ready when you give the signal.” He hated running, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to find out if he hated mobs of fans more, so he was prepared to escape.

 

Jisung nodded, the edges of his lips curling upwards. “Okay, we’ll go on the count of three,” A blood curdling scream of Jisung’s name followed by pounding footsteps made his eyes flash with panic. “ _ Three! _ ” He yelled, skipping the first two numbers, and took off with Donghyuck hot on his heels.

 

Donghyuck was very tempted to make a scathing comment about Jisung’s lack of a warning, but decided that he needed to save his breath as he dashed after the younger, following him down streets and avenues before he turned a corner and disappeared. Donghyuck would have kept running right past, but a hand darted out and grabbed him.

 

He was unceremoniously yanked into a little alleyway between a convenience store and a hair salon, and found himself stuck with his back to the brick wall of the salon, his chest pressed up against Jisung’s. Donghyuck opened his lips to protest, but Jisung put a hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t speak.

 

They stood there for a moment, their lungs desperately trying to regain oxygen, and watched as a horde of about twenty schoolgirls ran past the alleyway, still yelling to try and find where Jisung had gone off to. 

 

The moment the mob was out of both sight and earshot, they both dissolved into giggles. There wasn’t any extra space in the cramped alley, so when Jisung doubled over from laughing so hard, his forehead ended up resting on Donghyuck’s shoulder as Donghyuck leaned his head back against the wall behind him and slowly calmed his hysterics.

 

“So,” Donghyuck’s voice was light as he choked out the words between gasps. “This is what it’s like being a celebrity?” Jisung raised his head from Donghyuck, presumably to give an answer, but the words got caught in his throat when all of a sudden, their proximity was unbearably obvious.

 

Donghyuck could count each of the long eyelashes that fluttered oh-so-prettily with every blink; could trace the invisible paths between each tiny freckle that was too small to see at a normal distance; could kiss the little lopsided curve to his cupid’s bow—

 

Donghyuck cleared his throat, slipping away from Jisung and back out onto the main sidewalk, rubbing the back of his neck. Jisung smiled sheepishly, mirroring Donghyuck’s hand movement, and Donghyuck decided to take pity on the boy.

 

“Where do you want to go?” The kind smile on his face helped ease the tension between the two boys. Jisung just shrugged, but led the way down the sidewalk until they reached a little cafe of sorts that sold warm drinks and cold sandwiches.

 

It was a cozy little place, squished between two big-box clothing stores, but Donghyuck just supposed that was part of its charm, and the fact that it was about a block away from the auditorium where Donghyuck had his choir rehearsal in less than an hour was also a plus. 

 

Over the course of lunch, Donghyuck learned that Jisung becomes much more happy and talkative when he’s not around too many people and is being fed.

 

The two talked for a while, the remnants of their food pushed to the side as the conversation they were having took precedence over the area and their lunches became forgotten in the background of wild hand gestures and loud laughter.

 

Jisung was smiling so brightly, and Donghyuck was reasonably sure that he had heard Jisung speak more that afternoon than he had in the rest of the dance rehearsals he had ever had with the sophomore  _ combined _ . Donghyuck didn’t want to leave that cafe for the rest of the day.

 

Until he caught sight of his phone screen lighting up at his elbow, showing the notification of a third missed call from Chenle, one of the other sopranos in his choir, along with twelve text messages asking where he was. Donghyuck was five minutes away from being late to choir rehearsal, which was certainly  _ not _ something he could afford.

 

Donghyuck groaned, flagging down the waitress who had served them earlier, muttering a small string of curses under his breath.

 

Jisung straightened up all of a sudden. “Why are you leaving?”

 

Donghyuck gave him a pained smile. “I have choir rehearsal in five minutes, and if I’m late, director Taeil will castrate me with his baton." Jisung winced at the image.

 

“How far away is it?”

 

“Just a block or so.”

 

Jisung nodded. “Okay, go. I’ll handle this.”

 

“No,” Donghyuck shook his head in protest. “I told you that I’d take you out—”

 

“But it’s more important that you make it to rehearsal on time, so get out of here and let me deal with this.” Jisung gestured to the plates.

 

“But I need to pay!” Donghyuck was dangerously close to whining.

 

“You can pay another time, now get going before you’re late!”

 

Donghyuck was halfway out of his chair when Jisung’s words sunk in and he turned back slowly. “Another time?”

 

Jisung turned pink and averted his eyes as he twiddled his thumbs on the table. “Oh, sorry, I just assumed that—”

 

“Sungie,” Donghyuck placed a gentle hand over the youngers’ to stop his fidgeting. “Another time would be great.”

 

“Really?” Jisung perked up, yet his eyes still showed signs of disbelief and hesitance, so Donghyuck gave his hands a squeeze. 

 

“Really.” He reassured, before seeing that he had less than four minutes to get to the auditorium, so he bade Jisung goodbye as fast as he could while grabbing his bag and rushing out the door.

 

Donghyuck sprinted the entire way there, and ended up arriving mere seconds before Taeil entered the room. He dropped his bag on the floor by the wall, and quickly made his way to his place on the risers.

 

“Hyung!” Chenle hissed from the next spot over. “Why were you almost late?”

 

Donghyuck grinned. “I had a date.”

 

Chenle exaggerated a gasp. “You? A date?  _ Never! _ ”

 

“Shut it, Zhong.” Donghyuck lightly shoved Chenle’s shoulder as he scanned the second soprano section for Renjun, but his suspicion was right. Renjun had already left for China, and he tried to ignore the pang of sadness in his chest. At least until he remembered that he and Jisung have duet practice after rehearsal, and that thought is what helped Donghyuck power through choir.

 

Jisung was waiting by the door when Donghyuck rushed out of the auditorium finally, a lollipop twisting in his mouth as he scrolled through his phone, leaning up against the wall of the building. There was a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes and a mask tucked under his chin, evidently new additions to his attire so he didn’t have a repeat of earlier.

 

“Hey, celebrity.” Donghyuck sidled up next to him, nudging Jisung’s shoulder with his own. 

 

Jisung jumped, pocketing his phone. “Hey, Donghyuck.”

 

“Ready to practice?”

 

“Of course,” Jisung tossed the stick to his lollipop in the garbage can nearby and pulled up his mask. “I think I have some new ideas.”

 

And when Donghyuck offered his hand to Jisung, the blond boy turned red to the tips of his ears, but didn’t let go the whole way to the studio.

 

Somewhere in the distance, Donghyuck reasoned, Jaemin was winning a bet about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 coming tomorrow!!


	2. Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i highkey didn't proofread this chapter bc i'm rushing to get it out before midnighttttttttt

**Friday, December 19th**

_ 3 Days Until Departure _

_ 5 Days Until the Christmas Eve Party _

**6 Days Until Christmas**

* * *

 

**Donghyuck woke up the next** and was reasonably sure that every muscle in his body had just turned to cement. He was sure he hadn’t stretched properly last night before he and Jisung had practiced for hours on end. Donghyuck hadn’t ended up stumbling back to the apartment until the time was creeping close to one in the morning since they had ended up working so well together and coming up with so many ideas.

 

If there was a bright side to this, Donghyuck thought as he tried to stretch his legs, it was that the lunch that he had dragged Jisung out to had definitely paid off, and they were much more easy-going and comfortable around each other after that.

 

Donghyuck made a valiant attempt to move his neck to the side, but a the twinge of a tight muscle let him know that,  _ no, that was definitely not happening this morning _ . It was the same case with his shoulders when he tried roll them or stretch his arms over his head.

 

If there was one thing in the world he needed it was a long, hot bath, but if there was one thing in the world he didn’t have time for, it was a long, hot bath. Donghyuck had music theory at eleven o’clock, and it was already ten fifteen.

 

Donghyuck ended up opting for a quick scalding shower and a cup of hot tea instead, landing a quick kiss on Jaemin’s cheek on his way out the door. Jaemin didn’t have any classes this Friday, so he was just waking up and walking around groggily since he hadn’t ingested his customary eight cups of coffee yet, so Donghyuck knew he could sneak in a kiss without the risk of retaliation. 

 

Donghyuck didn’t arrive with much time to spare before class started, but at least he was early, and his only complaint was the fact that he could have spared the two minutes to dry his hair better before he escaped the apartment. 

 

“Hey,” A voice came from behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. It was Yukhei, one of the seniors in the music theory class, that had approached him. “Are you busy tomorrow?” 

 

Donghyuck was a little wary of what Yukhei was getting at, but decided to indulge the boy anyway. “Nothing yet. Is there something you had in mind?”

 

Yukhei shot him a grin, giving off the impression that he had already succeeded. “So, I have this basketball game tomorrow and was wondering if you’d like to come out and support me, I mean, the team.” He finally took a breath from his rambling before he continued. “It’s regional finals and the last game we have to win before we make it to nationals.”

 

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s really impressive. Congratulations.” But before he could give an answer to Yukhei’s request, Professor Sicheng, who insisted that all of his students by his first name, walked into the room and announced the beginning of class.

 

Between jotting down notes about augmented thirds and major mixolydians, Donghyuck managed to scribble a note onto the margin of his notebook before balling it up and throwing it at the back of Yukhei’s head. 

 

Yukhei spun around confused, but picked up the paper when he saw Donghyuck gesturing animatedly at the ground behind his seat. He unfurled the paper, smoothing it out on his leg, and Donghyuck could picture his handwriting on the note.

 

‘ _ I’ll see if I can make it, but no promises. _ ’ the neatly scrawled handwriting proclaimed proudly.

 

The moment he finished reading the note, Yukhei flashed Donghyuck a smile and a thumbs up before turning his attention back to Sicheng, notifying Donghyuck that he should probably do the same.

 

Jisung flashed through his mind as Donghyuck picked up his pencil again, and all he could hope was that he wouldn’t end up needing to attend that basketball game, but a nagging voice in the back of his mind told him to make a reminder in his phone about the game.

 

‘ _ Just in case _ ,’ it whined.

 

Donghyuck bit his lip to keep a verbal response from slipping out and did his best to focus on Sicheng for the rest of class, making sure to dart out of the classroom the moment it was over to avoid another confrontation with Yukhei before the guilt stopped gnawing at the it of his stomach.

 

Any other thoughts of the senior athlete were whisked right out of his head with a small  _ ping _ from his phone, signifying a new text message. It was from Jisung—they had exchanged numbers last night—asking if they were still on for rehearsal this afternoon. 

 

Donghyuck smiled, replying that yes he would be there, but his sore muscles would be making an appearance as well. Jisung sent back a string of emojis that Donghyuck assumed meant something along the lines of ‘ _ you can do it and I’ll see you later _ ’, but honestly, he couldn’t tell for sure.

 

They had agreed on three o’clock as the meeting time, and as Donghyuck glanced at his watch, he calculated that he had about two and a half hours to burn before he needed to be at the studio. 

 

Donghyuck slipped back into the apartment, stomach growling. He put his backpack on the counter and poked his head in the fridge just to realize that Jaemin was cooking on the stovetop right next to him.

 

“Got a date yet?” Jaemin flipped the grilled cheese sandwich in the pan. Donghyuck figured since he was using the stove, he had already consumed his daily supplement of caffeine.

 

“Nah,” Donghyuck shook his head before resting his chin on his roommate’s shoulder. “It’s a distinct possibility but nothing is set.”

 

Jaemin nodded, scooping the sandwich onto a plate, handing it to Donghyuck. “Alright. Just keep me updated.”

 

They played chess for the rest of the afternoon, Donghyuck still emphatic that one of those days, he would kick Jaemin’s ass. Jaemin merely laughed in response, before moving his knight and calling out ‘ _ checkmate! _ ’, but before Donghyuck knew it, it was time for Jaemin to head off to class and Donghyuck to get to practice with Jisung. 

 

Donghyuck loved the studio’s exterior, although he spent much more time on the inside. The walls on the outside were classic red brick since it was remodeled from one of the old music halls that had long since been put out of use. There was a huge half-finished mural on the side of the studio, but it was always covered with plastic sheets, so Donghyuck had never actually seen what it was of.

 

No one had any idea who the artist was either, just that they had gotten permission from the board to do this project, and that it was supposed to be done before the end of the school year. Donghyuck smiled as he walked past the plastic sheets gently flapping in the wind before he entered the studio and remembered that his entire body wanted him to suffer.

 

The practice room is empty when Donghyuck pushed the door open, surprising him. Usually Jisung was always the first to be at any sort of rehearsal, but it wasn’t like Donghyuck was complaining. He was early anyway, by a substantial amount, and this would give him some time to try and roll out his muscles and at least attempt to stretch them properly before he was sure to overwork them in practice again that day.

 

Donghyuck struggled through the stretches for nearly ten minutes before Jisung walked into the room, causing him to stop spitting out expletives every time a muscle twinged. 

 

“Hey, are you ready?” Donghyuck asked, jumping up.

 

Jisung nodded, taking off his mask. “Yeah, I stretched before I got here so we can get started right away from where we left off.”

 

That was what Donghyuck liked so much about Jisung when he practiced: he left everything concise and to-the-point, never delaying any of his requests or beating around the bush once they had gotten more comfortable with each other. 

 

They spent hours brainstorming, and choreographing, and practicing, and re-choreographing, and perfecting their routine that the duo didn’t even have to be done with until the end of January, in more than a month. They work as hard as they could, never once faltering until Donghyuck’s calf decided that it would be a great time to seize up.

 

Donghyuck felt his calf twitch a second before he fell to the floor with a cry, his legs buckling, letting him fall to the hard studio floor. The pain was excruciating. 

 

“Donghyuck!” Jisung gasped, shutting the music off before rushing over. “Are you okay?”

 

Donghyuck grimaced as Jisung poked his calf, the muscle spasming in response. “I don’t think so.” 

 

“What’s wrong?” Jisung’s voice was high with concern.

 

“Just cramps, I think.” He gritted out. “But my shoulder has been bothering me since this morning, so I’m surprised that this was the one to go out first.”

 

Jisung rolled his eyes, getting up to grab Donghyuck’s water bottle from his bag. “You need to stay hydrated or stuff like this is going to happen.” He scolded lightly, pushing the bottle into Donghyuck’s hands. “Have you had any water yet today?”

 

Donghyuck gave him a sheepish smile, shaking his head as he began to drink.

 

“Okay, that’s mistake number one then.” Jisung sounded exasperated. “Did you take a hot bath or extra time to roll out your shoulder?”

 

Donghyuck’s response was the same: a timid shake of the head.

 

“Hyuck you’ve got to take care of yourself!” Jisung threw his hands up in the air.

 

Donghyuck stuck out his tongue at the younger, but almost bit it off when Jisung squeezed his calf.

 

“Let me work on your muscles while you drink some more water.” 

 

“But we have to—”

 

Jisung glared at Donghyuck. “No, we don’t. We’ve made more progress in these two days than Ten is expecting from us in two weeks. Now shut up and let me help you.”

 

Donghyuck huffed, but relented. “Fine, but at least hand me the notebook, would you?”

 

Jisung shook his head. “Nope. You just have to relax for ten minutes while I fix you, got it?”

 

Donghyuck didn’t give an answer, just a hum as Jisung began to work his fingers gently into the muscle. Donghyuck bit his lip from the pain at first, but he could feel his calf loosening up under the younger’s hands. Jisung kneaded his leg with the heel of his hand, and he had to bite back a rather embarrassing noise because of how good it felt. 

 

“Okay,” Donghyuck gently pushed Jisung’s hands away. “I think I’m good now.” But Jisung shook his head, scooting behind the older. Before any of his actions could be questioned, however, Jisung’s fingers dug into the fibres of his shoulders, making head head droop down with a pleased sigh escaping his lips.

 

All of the tension and pain was whisked away as Donghyuck’s body melted under Jisung’s touch. “Are you sure you want to be a dancer and not a masseuse?” Donghyuck choked out a laugh, his voice a bit strained.

 

“Of course,” Jisung laughed. “If I wasn’t a dancer, I never would have met you.” The two of them both go still at the comment as the meaning sunk into their skin, one specific connotation in mind.

 

Jisung released his grip on Donghyuck’s shoulders like they were scalding at the same time Donghyuck spun around and grabbed onto Jisung’s wrists, holding him in place so he couldn’t move away. 

 

“You mean that?” Donghyuck sincerely hoped that he wasn’t misreading the situation, but the light rosy hue to Jisung’s cheeks told him that he was probably right. “In what way?”

 

Jisung took a deep breath. “In this way.”, he mumbled before cupping Donghyuck’s face in his hands and leaning in so their lips can connect. Donghyuck sighed into the kiss, partly out of satisfaction that he was right, but mostly because of how good Jisung’s lips felt on his own.

 

Donghyuck leaned in grasping for purchase on Jisung’s shoulders before climbing onto his lap. Jisung gasped at Donghyuck’s bold movement, letting the older take that opportunity to deepen the kiss. 

 

He explored Jisung’s mouth with his tongue, mapping out all of the dips and divots in the cavern, discovering which made Jisung gasp, which made his breath hitch, and which made him elicit the sweetest sounds.

 

Turned out that Jisung was doing the same thing after experimentally nibbling on Donghyuck’s bottom lip, only to receive a groan and a bruising kiss in response. His hands had also found their wunder Donghyuck’s sweatshirt, running up and down his sides until goosebumps rose up all over his skin.

 

In an unexpected, but not unappreciated, move, Jisung flipped them around, with all of the grace and finesse Donghyuck would have expected him to have, until Donghyuck was lying on the floor with Jisung straddling his hips. A devilish smirk graced the younger’s lips as he bent down to lay a gentle kiss at the base of Donghyuck’s throat.

 

All of the air disappeared from Donghyuck’s lungs when Jisung began to lay out patterns of butterfly kisses all over his neck, reaching up as far as the hinge of his jaw and as low as his clavicle, leaving Donghyuck completely breathless.

 

However, even with as much as he enjoyed being kissed and doted upon, Donghyuck wanted to see what Jisung would look like underneath him, moaning and gasping for air with every kiss Donghyuck would land on his neck.

 

The image Donghyuck created in his mind was uncannily similar to the situation they found themselves in not two moments after, but there was less moaning and more keening coming from Jisung as Donghyuck let his lips travel around the pale expanse of skin on Jisung’s neck and collarbone, leaving the younger devoid of air.

 

“Hyuck,” Jisung gasped out finally, something in his tone making Donghyuck pause. “Hyuck, hold on.” Donghyuck climbed off of Jisung right away, fussing about the younger to make sure he was alright, but Jisung just clasped Donghyuck’s hands in his.

 

“Donghyuck,” Jisung took a huge breath. “I’m gay.”

 

“Well I sure hope so,” Donghyuck laughed, but he knew that there was more to what Jisung was getting at, so he quieted himself and let the younger play with his fingers.

 

“You’re the first person I’ve told,” Jisung admitted quietly. “I’m not out yet.”

 

“Okay,” Donghyuck breathed, sitting back on his heels. “Okay.” He planted a chaste kiss on Jisung’s cheek, drawing the younger’s attention back from the floor. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m so so proud of you for this, but you know why this can’t happen then?” Donghyuck’s tone was soft, and Jisung just nodded numbly.

 

Donghyuck let a hand linger on Jisung’s cheek for a moment before he stood, grabbing his water bottle and bag.

 

“Check back with me when you’re comfortable with who you are.” Donghyuck told him, fondness dripping into his tone easily. “Until then, I’ll be a good friend who is always here to talk, and I’ll be the best dance partner I can be.”

 

Jisung nodded, his eyes a little watery, but the sure smile on his face overrode the tears. “Okay, Hyuck.”

 

“I’ll see you after break, Sungie,” Donghyuck placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, watching the other’s eyes flutter closed at the sensation. Donghyuck cupped his cheek one last time, running a thumb over his cheekbone. He sighed, dropping his hand, exiting the room before Jisung blinked his beautiful eyes back open once more. 

 

Donghyuck got back to the apartment, thoroughly drained and sore as he flopped down onto the couch next to Jaemin, who must have gotten back from his lecture a while ago because he was already settled on the sofa, buried under two blankets and reading a book.

 

“No date?” Jaemin set his book down and peered over at Donghyuck.

 

“No date.” He shook his head.

 

“Wanna talk about it?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Netflix and ice cream?” Jaemin was already reaching for the remote.

 

“Yeah,” Donghyuck sighed, nestling into Jaemin’s side and trying not to focus on the fact that he only had three days to figure everything out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think that this story in total is the longest one i wrote,,, i tried to keep them all around 5k just because that's like 30k of writing that i did over the span of about three weeks (which is a lot for me), but this one ended up dangerously close to 6k words  
> oHBOY i forgot about this today so i almost didn't post it in time!! but!!! it's not quite midnight yet so it still counts!!  
> after this chapter, it's honestly pretty obvious who is next,,,  
> next story will be posted tomorrow!!!

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on my socials about anything <3
> 
>  
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/baridalive)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/baridalive)  
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